Eve retrospective: The Khumaak (part 2)

Image courtesy of Joe Gratz, and can be found on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lambdachialpha/201970644/

Part 2: From Response to Revelation

The silence from Midular’s office in Eram was short lived. The following day a response was issued to the protesters:

The Sebiestor tribe regrets our fellow Minmatars’ lack of restraint in this matter, and wishes to let it be known that it has not, and will not, pander to the wishes of extremists who do not have the Republic’s best political interests at hand. Today is a time of diplomacy, and relics of a bloody past do nothing to help our relations with the other empires, relations which we have built through the hard work of communication and mutual understanding.

Atbi Enonotur, Chief Coordinator of Public Relations for the Sebiestor

This statement – although sounding fairly standard for any government organisation – was the catalyst for the ‘us against them’ mentality that lead to the separatist movement from the Republic that later formed the People’s Republic of Minmatar.

The so-called ‘extremists’ were outraged at the mere suggestion that they did not have their people’s best interests at heart when they were so recently protesting – peacefully – to keep the very traditions that make them who they are: Matari. To the protesters there was no logical reason to abandon the symbol of their struggles to become free, and the move was seen as pandering to bureaucracy.

Ten days later, after an extended closed session, the Brutor tribe issued its own response, requesting “the Khumaak to be kept on the official list of sanctioned Minmatar state, military and fleet apparel”, along with a list of circumstances where it would not be allowed; such as meetings with Amarr delegates and other sensitive situations that could spark hostility. Sebiestor tribe was quiet on the issue while they reviewed the new proposal fully.

Motion Passed

Four days after the Brutor proposal, on 15th March 106 (2004), the motion was passed, with the changes suggested by the Brutor accepted unanimously amongst the tribal leaders.

Following the motion, one Sebiestor tribe official, Bolwin Amrisar, resigned his position, levying allegations at PM Midular’s respect, or lack thereof for due political process, along with allegations that “she had, prior to the motion, dealt with high-level officials within the Amarr government to secure the release and return of a large number of Minmatar slaves from still-active colonies in return for the Khumaak’s banning at occasions where Amarr emissaries would be present.” The accusations however, were quickly dismissed by the council, stating that such a deal could not have occurred without people knowing of it. This in turn spurred the now-famous quote from the PM herself:

I do what is best for my people, in any way I can. That is all anyone should need concern themselves with.

Karin Midular, former Prime Minister of the Minmatar Republic

Scandal, or Political Power-play?

Only the hardline ‘extremists’ were outspoken in support of Bolwin Amrisar’s accusations, and as the motion carried forward essentially meant that Khumaaks could be worn to any occasion as long as they were covered in the presence of Amarr officials, it was seen as a peaceable compromise. Peaceable of course until fifteen thousand Matari slaves were released from the Amarr Empire, in an effort to “[promote] peace between our two nations and mending the rift caused by years of violence, our beloved Emperor wishes to extend this gesture of goodwill to the Minmatar Republic.” Rakman Kasha, spokesman for the Imperial Chancellor’s Office

Whether this was the under-the-table arrangement denied by Midular just days beforehand or clever political wrangling by the Amarr Empire to further incite rebellion against the current Republic government has never been discovered, but for many, Midular’s “in any way I can” attitude combined with the accusations that talks of such a deal had taken place was enough to cement their feelings that the current Republic regime was corrupt.

A month after the revelation of Midular’s possible pandering to the Amarr, the People’s Republic of Minmatar officially formed in the Tartatven constellation of Molden Heath.

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